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Background

The international Square Kilometre Array (SKA) project aims to construct the world’s largest radio telescope – 100 times as sensitive as present instruments – by 2015. A number of design concepts for the instrument are now in the prototype and demonstration phase; a selection of technology for the SKA will be made in 2007-8. Regardless of which concepts are chosen, the scale of the project makes it certain that industry will be involved in the design, construction and operation of the instrument.

SKA Industry Interaction Basics
As a matter of principle the international SKA project, and its associated national and regional programs, welcome interest from potential industry partners. In general terms any joint research and development is viewed as a shared-risk endeavour, with SKA consortia and industry each contributing to defined activities. In some countries industry is able to offset or recoup its contribution via government funding programs or the tax system. The SKA has an agreed policy on intellectual property (IP) developed under its aegis. Broadly, industry partners exploit their own IP contributions in arenas outside the SKA project but innovations are available to the SKA project free of any licensing charge.

Advantages of Collaboration
Some benefits of joint R&D with the SKA community are:

• The opportunity to grow and hone the creative energies of the best professionals in an imaginative project whose aim is no less than to chart the history of the Universe;

• The ability to perfect leading-edge techniques and products in a very demanding application, and to interact with highly technologically sophisticated users;

• The ability to generate and share information with other R&D partners – both institutional and industrial – in a benign and commercially non-threatening environment;

• The visibility flowing from association with an innovative, high profile, international mega-science project; and

• The potential for early involvement and favourable positioning in a $/€ 1 billion project spanning a wide range of engineering and computing disciplines.

Stages in Collaboration

The SKA project plan contains a number of key dates, each of which is relevant to commercial entities interested in the project. A list of dates and potential opportunities around these times is set out in the table below.

Year	Milestone	Notes
2003	Initial siting proposals received from four countries	Scope for continuing industry involvement in national site characterization
2004	Plans for national SKA demonstrators submitted	Possible industry links to national SKA technology development programs
2005	Final SKA site submissions
2006	Choice of SKA site Critical review of technology demonstrator programs	Additional industry links possible in development of objective international methodology for technology selection and risk management
2008	Choice of SKA technology
2008	Construction of on-site SKA demonstrator (5% SKA area)	Likely industry participation in infrastructure provision, and instrument design and construction
2012	Construction of SKA	Maximum industry involvement at levels of final design, project management, and construction contracts and sub-contracts
2015	Stage 1 SKA complete and operational	Industry opportunities in commissioning, operations and maintenance
2020	SKA complete	Continuing operations and maintenance role for industry

See opportunities for industry links

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